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A Journey Through Finland - Region Portrait

Started by Tandini, January 15, 2013, 07:26:07 AM

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Tandini

A Journey Through Finland

Table of contents:




Awards:

       
  • OSITM (April 2013)



A warm 'Hello' to all and welcome to my first MD here on SC4D.

First of all, please don't be too critical with my English, cause I'm not a native speaker...

After posting at the German SimForum competition "Best Harbour Village", where I was elected as 2nd winner, and at the "Best Mountain Village" competition (2nd part) as single participant, I was asked to present a MD of my work...

I have to admit that I was pondering since some time about starting a RP, but I was hesitant because of the work that would involve, especially concerning regular updates. On the other hand I'm well aware that it would be nothing more than fair to give something back for all the DL's that fill my plugin folder with more than 2 GB...

So I want to thank you all – for all the inspirations by those famous ' Painters' and 'Stone-Pushers' like Paeng and Framly (only to mention two of them) – and for all the hard work of you MODers, PROPers, BATers and LOTers!

When I started with SimCity, I mainly built huge cities, but with lots of parks, green zones and lakes (as soon as this was possible). With the time my interests changed to building smaller villages surrounded by agricultural areas and rural nature. But after some frustrating efforts because of a lack of missing possibilities – I gave it up...

Some three years ago I rediscovered SimCity – and I was overwhelmed!

First I only was lurking around, gazing at CJs, MDs and RPs and massively downloading content. Then I loaded the SC4 San Francisco region – and started off...

- - - - -

Note: In most cases clicking on a pic opens HiRes





Introduction:

Finland (yes, with only one 'n') was discovered by the famous adventurer and explorer Finn Tandini many centuries ago. This virgin paradise that he found at the (back then known) world's end impressed Finn so deeply, that after returning home, only few years later people saw him under canvas again – as commander of a small fleet rife with settlers full of expectations, with them his family and many of his relatives and friends.

Historical records say that the settlers wanted to name this new land in honour of the discoverer 'Finnland' – but he refused. In his humble but firm manner, he achieved that one 'n' was cut – thus giving the country name a new double meaning: 'Finland' – the 'fine' land at the world's 'finale'...

So then, may I introduce myself?

I am Finn Tandini, descendant in direct line of the famous explorer in 26th generation. As many of my forefathers so I too was elected as country administrator. And the people say that I would do this task well.

Since some years I'm teaching my son – after he earnestly showing interest – to step into my shoes. He comes along on our journey.


Chapter 1: Ancestral Home of the Tandini

Since 22 generations our family home is located on an island off the coast. Its name Nesholt derives partly from our Italian-Greek roots, partly from Nordic influence: Greek 'Nesos' = Island, 'Holt' = town names in Island, Norway and on some British Islands. On top of the island there are still ruins of the old stronghold, which was inhabited over seven generations. In the 14th century a mansion was founded beneath the stronghold, directed to the open sea. Since then the mansion is the home of the Tandini.

Pic 1.01: The Island Nesholt (as seen from west)




Pic 1.03: The Island Nesholt (as seen from north)




Pic 1.03: The Island Nesholt (from east)




Not always did my ancestors stand out by modesty... In the 17th century the fairly modest mansion was reconstructed into a noble palace, surrounded with spacious parks.

Then the world changed – depression, world wars...

The attitude of people changed, what resulted in decreasing acceptance of the rising maintenance costs. My father, whose interests were more with wine growing, abdicated the administrator charge and expanded the growing of wine. By very successful cuttings and excellent wine creations he considerably relieved the financial pressure.

Already in my young-manhood I developed a strong proposition to reconstruct our family home completely: once again it should become modest and I wanted it to blend harmonically into the surrounding nature. Based on a famous building of the well known architect Frank Lloyd Wright resulted an organic site that fits well our representative requirements.


Pic 1.04: The near environment of our family home






But my son holds that the boreal planting of the estate doesn't really match the rather Mediterranean nature of Nesholt. Well, this seems to become one of my charges when I pass the chair to my son...

Pic 1.05: Falling Waters




Beneath our estate a boardwalk runs down to our pier we opened to the public. It became a popular stomping ground to marvel at the flora and fauna of the sea.

Pic. 1.06: View from the pier




From the upper entrance to our home an old iron bridge leads to the mill. In Finland we attach great importance to preferably natural and decentralized supply in all respects. Therefore, additionally to the two wind turbines, this mill serves mainly as electrical power supply. Because of lack of space to grow grain, we get the needs from the mainland, but flouring it our own...

Pic. 1.07: The mill




Pic. 1.08: The two wind turbines near the 'Turtle Beach'




Passing the sheep-run right hand up the hill a gravel path leads to the property of the family Gronki. There you get organic turkey meat and delicious pine and flower honey!

Pic. 1.09: The Gronki Estate




Immediately behind the Gronki start the vineyards. The gravel path leads in wide turn up to the castle ruin. Beneath the property of the Gronky the path passes a steel bridge leading to the only village on Nesholt. The scenic point above the steel bridge offers splendid views into the Gorge gap and onto the sea.

Pic. 1.10: A paradise for divers – but somehow dangerous...




Well, bye for now – next time you are invited to visit Porto Nesholt.

- - - - -

Your comments and suggestions are appreciated.


  Come along on a Journey through Finland

wouanagaine


New Horizons Productions
Berethor ♦ beskhu3epnm ♦ blade2k5 ♦ dmscopio ♦ dedgren ♦ emilin ♦ Ennedi ♦ Heblem ♦ jplumbley
M4346 ♦ moganite ♦ Papab2000 ♦ Shadow Assassin ♦ Tarkus ♦ wouanagaine
Divide wouanagaine by zero and you will in fact get one...one bad-ass that is - Alek King of SC4

Swordmaster

Always good to see a new MD, but this one seems particularly interesting. It's rare to see someone make this brilliant a start. Your style reminds me of the best detail masters here and yet for some reason you achieve a very unique look. The underwater flora in particular is stunning.

My only remark would be the water mod. As you can see clearly in the first pictures its tiling effect is blatant at higher zooms. The color is very fitting, but I suggest picking a different texture.

Also, don't worry too much about having to update frequently or meet certain deadlines. Most of the folks here are used to waiting a bit longer just to get an even better update. Don't worry about your English, either, it's quite good ;)


I'll be following this closely. . .


Cheers
Willy

rooker1

Very, very impressive start indeed....as the others have already said.  Your detailing is absolutely top notch!!
I can't wait to see more.  Try to update your MD at least every 45 days to prevent it from being moved to the inactive section.

Robin
Call me Robin, please.

noahclem

Just spectacular  &apls &apls  Each picture sparkles with a ton of detail, work, and creativity. I certainly look forward to you continuing on this project. I would echo that you don't need to stress out about not updating all the time. My suggestion would be to sometimes do smaller updates if you feel like it's been too long since the last one--it's my habit when I feel like my Siilijoki has been too quiet for too long  ;)

I have to say it's not exactly what I expected when I saw the title "A Journey Through Finland" though  :D  Are there going to be Finnish aspects or is it just the name of the founder?

mave94

That's just a very great introduction! I'm glad you decided to start an MD here on SC4D. :)

There are so many details to look at. I especially like the scene with the watermill. Can we expect some snowy scenes? ;D

Well done! :thumbsup:

-Matthijs

nbvc


sim_link

Your level of detail is jaw dropping, the flora, rocks, buildings... everything. It all fits so nicely and is so detailed. Fantastic start!  ;D

wallasey

They say pictures say a thousand words...this couldn't be more applicable to your scenes if you tried! Just spectacular.

In some ways, it is relaxing to look at this island oasis after a long day's work in the city.

Keep up the good work!

RickD

Let me chime in to the praise. ;) No, really, this is a great start. I like the scenery with all those beautiful details and the style is uniqe in a positive way. I am not a fan of your water mod, though. It has a repetitive pattern.

Looking forward to the next update.  :)
My name is Raphael.
Visit my MD: Empire Bay (My old MD: Santa Barbara County)

Mr.Lin

THE CITY OF DANYARD ! SCCN
THE CITY OF DANYARD ! SC4D (Click on the pictures below)


人们都知道的,是生活;人们不知道的,才是艺术

M4346

You are very brave - and very good at - tackling those slopes! I fear and avoid them like the plague!

Well done! ;D
New Horizons Productions
Berethor ♦ beskhu3epnm ♦ blade2k5 ♦ dedgren ♦ dmscopio ♦ Ennedi
emilin ♦ Heblem ♦ jplumbley ♦ moganite ♦ M4346 ♦ papab2000
Shadow Assassin ♦ Tarkus ♦ wouanagaine

Huston_N7

That's truly outstanding work! Your use of MMPs in this is really interesting, and I like how you've manage to tackle slopes. The mill has particularly nice look to it. Looking forward to more of your work :D
<a href="http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=15523.msg467533#msg467533"></a>
E37 - Ferust System | Violet Nebula
"Blinding Night"
06/09/2013

Schulmanator

See the all-new National Capital Region!:http://sc4devotion.com/forums/index.php?topic=15118.0

Tandini


A Journey Through Finland


Replies:

Thank you all for the warm welcome and your encouraging comments!

- The water mod: I realized the tiling effect at higher zooms, but didn't pay much attention to it, because I was - and still am - much more concerned about the water transparency. I find it unrealistic high - and it forces me to work a lot at underwater flora... Well, but you seem to like it...
I already tried a lot of water mods, but without any change. Since short I'm in contact with 'der Gammler' from the German SimForum - he gave me some hints I will check soon. But anyway, I'll try out again other water mods - I'm thinking of Gobias' Water Pack's - hoping to eliminate the tiling effect.

- The name 'Finland': Well, 'Finland' comes, as I mentioned, from it's founder 'Finn Tandini' but with only one 'n', because I first started to present my work at the German SimForum and I wanted to distinguish it from the real existing land, which in German is written as 'Finnland'. I have to admit, that I didn't realize that in English it is written as 'Finland'...
And Yes, there will come snowy scenes in mountainous regions!

@ wallasey: I'm pleased – that is just what I want to create: relaxing to look at, comforting, calming, soothing.
I love creation – and I hate those ruining creation.



(Remember: Clicking on several of the pics opens HiRes)


- - - - -


Intermezzo: Diving and Playing with Dolphins



Just let us linger on the bridge - gazing into the Gorge gap - letting our eyes wander up from the spring down to the sea.

Pic 1.01Z:








A little bit south we watch Dimitry Dytes scuba diving school. He is a diving crack - famous all over Finland. But locals know him as a rascal, who sometimes plays cheap tricks on tourists...

Pic 1.02Z:





Dolphins down the coast! The news spread rapidly - A group of divers and watchers hired two of Dimitry's boats. Obvious that Dimitry too is on the spot...

Pic. 1.03Z: Here we see him (in the foreground with yellow fins) greeting his friend 'ClickPfiff'...





Chapter 2: Porto Nesholt


Leaving the steel bridge behind – from which we enjoyed splendid views into the Gorge gap and onto the sea – we enter the 'outskirts' of Porto Nesholt. Some of the residents kept with the simple rural life. Since many generations these three families live from wood harvest, turkey hen breeding, market gardening and fruit growing.

Pic. 2.01 & 2.02: Rural Life and Farming







Opposite to them resides the family Walker. They always stuck to their British way of life, at least concerning their tenement. Aside they run the 'Ristorante Walker' fashioned in a charming mix of British and Mediterranean style. It is famous not only because of the delicious tomatoes the Walkers grow themselves...

The close-by rural market year-round offers agricultural products, fish and seafood, handicraft products for daily needs and artisanry mainly for tourists.

Pic. 2.03: Ristorante Walker and Rural Market




Directly underneath the Ristorante Walker, down the cliffs, there lives a kind of headstrong chap, who is only known by the name Hannibal. As a young nonconformist he arrived our island some 50 years ago, gave willingly a helping hand where accepted but always stuck to his peculiarity. Eventually he built this little hut, making a living from chicken and pigs. On his old days people often see him sitting at the beach in serenity, fishing and – carving...

He is well known for his quirky driftwood carvings and tourists love to buy them at the market.

Pic. 2.04: Hannibal's Hut




Porto Nesholt was documentary mentioned the first time in the year 1286. Back then it was built of only a few huts surrounding a landing place. The present-day village is made up of a single street, on both sides lined commercial and residential houses, cafés and restaurants, the market at the southern and a small church at the northern end.

In the 80th a vehicle traffic ban was enacted, allowing only residents and deliverers access by car to the village. Initially some tourists had problems with that, so a barrier was necessary. The little gatehouse you see at the end of the ascending street is a remainder from that time...

Pic 2.05: The Village of Porto Nesholt




Pic. 2.06: Backyard-flair and cosy Cafés




Pic 2.07: The Chapel with Cemetery




In the course of the traffic ban the harbor facilities were almost completely renewed, whereupon the more than 230 year old quay walls were thoroughly restored. The small ferry landing, the 'captaincy office' and the harbor restaurant were modernized and sufficient parking lots were built.

Pic. 2.08: The Harbor of Porto Nesholt as seen from west ...




Pic. 2.09: ... and from north




A wooden planked concrete bridge connects the island with the mainland. Island residents are allowed to use it with their cars and light delivery vehicles. Apart from that the bridge is subject to pedestrians.

Pic. 2.10: The Bridge to the Mainland




Next time we take a walk up to the ruins of the old stronghold.

So, by for now. I hope it's been worth the wait...

- - - - -

Again, your comments and suggestions are appreciated.

  Come along on a Journey through Finland

sim_link

Everything looks really awesome, but I especially like your water scenes. Those are so well done, nice work!  :thumbsup:

kaylacey

Jaw dropping.  This is one of the best regions ever!

Shroud


vortext

Wow, the underwater flora is absolutely stunning!  &apls

And of course the regular land flora is well done, too!!  :thumbsup:
time flies like a bird
fruit flies like a banana

Swordmaster

This is nothing short of stellar.

Note that changing water mods does not change transparency. This is an option in your terrain controller. But since it looks so great, I wouldn't change it ;)


Cheers
Willy